Books of 2016

Ahh, if only there were more time to read all the books I want to read!  2016 was another successful year of completing my "Reading Challenge."  This year I surpassed my goal and finished 54 print or electronic books (including 2 short stories) and 43 Audiobooks, allowing me to explore a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classics, humor, mysteries, sci fi, autobiographies, as well as several maternity and motherhood books as we welcomed our baby girl!  I listened to a lot of audiobook memoirs by present-day comedians and entertainers (Amy Poehler, Sara Bareilles, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, David Sedaris, etc.), explored some new authors and ones local to New Mexico, read a selection from Emma Watson's feminist book club, and also reaffirmed that historical fiction is my favorite genre (especially when there's a good plot).  I didn't like all of the books I read this year, which is okay too, but most of them were great.  My "Thursday Night Wine/Book Club" has been going strong for over a year now and is seriously one of the highlights of each month.  We have a great group of girlfriends, all from different backgrounds and with different careers, who come together each month to talk about books.  I also joined my neighborhood book club, which has been a wonderful opportunity to meet other women of a wide range of ages and hear new perspectives.  I have read books that I wouldn't necessarily choose to read myself, and I get a lot more out of the books I read when I have the opportunity to discuss them with other people.  Here are my 16 favorites of 2016, and the complete list for the year...

My TOP 16 of 2016 (in no particular order):
Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
The Nix, by Nathan Hill
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
Kitchens of the Great Midwest, by J. Ryan Stradal
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, by Robert M. Sapolsky
The Devil's Butcher Shop: The New Mexican Prison Uprising, by Roger Morris
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
Luckiest Girl Alive, by Jessica Knoll
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande
Where They Found Her, by Kimberly McCreight
Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, by Kareen Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld
The Mothers, by Brit Bennett

         

         
   

         
  


Complete List for 2016

Fiction:
The Premonition (short story), by Chris Bohjalian
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski
Baker's Blues, by Judith Ryan Hendricks
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie
The Girl in the Spider's Web, by David Lagercrantz
The Mothers, by Brit Bennett
2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, by Marie-Helene Bertino
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Trespasser, by Tana French
Deliver Her, by Patricia Perry Donovan
Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
A House for Happy Mothers, by Amulya Malladi
Lucky Us, by Amy Bloom
The Hurricane Sisters, by Dorothea Benton Frank
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
Three Wishes, by Liane Moriarty
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Circling the Sun, by Paula McLain
The Guest Room, by Chris Bohjalian
Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff
The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith
As Close As Sisters, by Colleen Faulkner
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, by Amy E. Reicher
Career of Evil, by Robert Galbraith
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

Nonfiction:
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, by Elizabeth Gilbert
Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White, by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, by Marie Kondo
The Devil's Butcher Shop: The New Mexican Prison Uprising, by Roger Morris
My Life on the Road, by Gloria Steinem
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, by Oliver Sacks
Mending the Torn Fabric, by Sarah Brabant
Sum It Up: 1,098 Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective, by Pat Summitt
Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person, by Shonda Rhimes
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande
Mastering Communication with Seriously Ill Patients: Balancing Honesty with Empathy and Hope, by Anthony Back

Audio:
The Nest, by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Winter Storms, by Elin Hilderbrand
Sounds Like Me, by Sara Bareilles
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
The Girls, by Emma Cline
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, by Amy Schumer
The Nix, by Nathan Hill
Harvesting the Heart, by Jodi Picoult
Boys in the Trees: A Memoir, by Carly Simon
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, by Robert M. Sapolsky
Wildflower, by Drew Barrymore
Everyone Brave is Forgiven, by Chris Cleave
A Tale for the Time Being, by Ruth Ozeki
Where They Found Her, by Kimberly McCreight
Midnight Sun, by Jo Nesbo
The Sound of Glass, by Karen White
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, by Malala Yousafzai
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things, by Jenny Lawson
Uganda Be Kidding Me, by Chelsea Handler
My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout
Life After Life, by Kate Atkinson
Mother, Can You Not?, by Kate Siegel
H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald
A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman
A God in Ruins, by Kate Atkinson
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
Where'd You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple
Just Kids, by Patti Smith
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
Kitchens of the Great Midwest, by J. Ryan Stradal
Why Not Me?, by Mindy Kaling
Early Warning, by Jane Smiley
The Nature of the Beast, by Louise Penny
The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty
Brooklyn, by Colm Toibin
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, by Jenny Lawson
Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
The Boston Girl, by Anita Diamant
The Grownup (short story), by Gillian Flynn
Among the Ten Thousand Things, by Julia Pierpont
Luckiest Girl Alive, by Jessica Knoll
Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
We Are All Welcome Here, by Elizabeth Berg

Motherhood:
The Science of Parenting, by Margot Sunderland
Mama's Big Book of Little Lifesavers: 398 Ways to Save Your Time, Money, and Sanity, by Kerry Colburn
Bringing up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, by Pamela Druckerman
Babywise: How 100,000 New Parents Trained Their Babies to Sleep Through the Night the Natural Way, by Gary Ezzo
Nursing Mother, Working Mother, by Gale Pryor
The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, by La Leche League International
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin
Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth, by Jennifer McCarthy
What To Expect When You're Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, by Roger W. Harms
Chicken Soup for the Soul: New Moms: 101 Inspirational Stories of Joy, Love, and Wonder, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, and Susan M. Heim
Birthing From Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation, by Pam England
Hello, My Name is Pabst: Baby Names for Nonconformist, Indie, Geeky, DIY, Hipster, and Alterna-Parents of Every Kind, by Miek Bruno and Kerry Sparks
What To Eat When You're Pregnant: How to Support Your Health and Your Baby's Development During Pregnancy, by Nicole M. Avena


I hope to keep up with monthly book club and occasionally attend my neighborhood book club in 2017, and my goal is to finish three books per month.  I would like to explore some of the winners of the Pulitzer and other literary awards, and in addition to books I also have goals of listening to more Podcasts and reading my professional organization journals more frequently.  However, I also know that I'll be spending less time on my own novels and mysteries and more time reading Baby Adyson's books to her before bedtime!  I look forward to checking out baby-friendly activities at the public library and continuing to grow her own little home library.  Reading will always be a very important part of my life, and I look forward to raising Ady in a household where books and education are essential.


Finally, here are 17 titles I look forward to reading (or re-reading) in 2017...

Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts
Britt-Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi
We Should All Be Feminists, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
Hag-Seed: The Tempest Retold, by Margaret Atwood
Truly Madly Guilty, by Liane Moriarty
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, by Elizabeth Gilbert
A Piece of Cake, by Cupcake Brown
Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett
State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
The New Basic: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent, by Michael Cohen
The Boys on the Boat, by Daniel James Brown
Dead Wake, by Erik Larson
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Crytography, by Simon Singh

Happy Reading!!